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SDG 7 localisation snapshot : Muntinlupa City, Philippines
Get PDFSDG7 Localisation Snapshot provides a brief overview of the key areas related to implementation of the Sustainable Goal 7 (SDG7) to ‘Ensure access to affordable, reliable,
sustainable and modern energy for all’ at the local level based on the answers provided by the jurisdiction to the SDG7 Localisation questionnaire.
Questionnaire allowed to collect the assessments from the local officials regarding the situation on the implementation of SDG7 in their jurisdiction. SDG7 Localisation Snapshot
is a part of the collaborative project of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to
support city and sub-national governments in accelerating their efforts in the field of sustainable energy. SDG 7 Localisation Snapshots are short publications of the cities’ self-assessment regarding their capacity and availability of policies, actions and resources for supporting SDG 7 localisation. The Snapshots can download here
Strategies to tackle the issue of seat belt and child restraint use for road safety in the Asia-Pacific region : implementation framework
Get PDFCreating safe and inclusive road transport has become a matter of global and regional concern, as the human and economic burden that road crashes produce severely temper sustainable development. Overall, ESCAP road deaths in 2016 amounted for 62% of all global road deaths.
Overall estimates published in the Global Status Report on Road Safety 2018 published by the World Health Organization stated that 29% of fatal victims worldwide died as drivers or passengers of 4-wheeled vehicles. Among many road crash reduction interventions, seat belts and child restraints are among the most efficient road safety devices available. In this regard, the Transport Division of ESCAP conducted a study on "Strategies to Tackle the Issue of Seat Belt and Child Restraint Use for Road Safety in the Asia-Pacific Region: Implementation Framework" to assess the current situation and ways forward in the Asia-Pacific region. </p
Leveraging regional cooperation for achieving the SDGs in South Asia
No full textGreater regional development cooperation is critical for South Asia to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of SDG interventions. The subregion has been lagging in terms of its overall progress towards the SDGs. Sharing similar structural constraints and challenges including disproportionate dependency on agriculture, industrial stagnation, huge infrastructural gaps, inadequate access to public services, increasing inequalities and marginalization of the poor and vulnerable sections of the population, South Asian countries collectively reveal characteristics that calls for enhanced regional cooperation. Moreover, bound together by geography, shared natural resources, riverine systems, agro-climatic zones and consequent common environmental vulnerabilities, the subregional countries also exhibits transboundary linkages that make regional cooperation an absolute necessity. The need for greater policy coordination and collaboration is also accentuated by the socio-economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, which has endangered developmental gains achieved by the subregion over many years.
This paper examines how regional cooperation could be utilized as a powerful tool to support and complement the national level SDG implementation efforts. It appraises the main areas of sustainable development that can benefit from enhanced regional cooperation and explores various ways and means to achieve it. The paper finds potential beneficial outcomes of cooperation in a wide range of policy areas including elimination of poverty and hunger, improved access to health, education and universal social protection, trade, connectivity, energy, technology, development financing and environmental sustainability. The paper further presents ways and means to strengthen and build on existing institutional, legal and regulatory frameworks for enhanced cooperation for achievement of the SDGs in South Asia.</p
Business initiatives to reduce poverty and inequality : strengthening the evidence base to leave no one behind
No full textThis report is developed as part of a project on Reducing Inequality in FEALAC Member Countries - Innovative Policy Making that Leaves No One Behind. It features initiatives by private companies in the region to help reduce poverty and inequality as well as to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. These initiatives involved tailoring existing business models to deliver new opportunities to vulnerable groups, existing client bases and business partners. By placing low-income markets at the core of their business strategies, inclusive business has become a recognized, viable means for the private sector to more systematically help reduce poverty and inequality
Digital and sustainable trade facilitation in Asia and the Pacific 2021
No full textThe regional report is part of a global survey effort on the implementation of trade facilitation and paperless trade measures, undertaken jointly by the five United Nations Regional Commissions for Africa (ECA), Europe (ECE), Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and West Asia (ESCWA).
Based on the 2021 United Nations Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation covering 46 countries of the Asia-Pacific region, this report reviews the progress of trade facilitation reforms and provides a detailed analysis based on 58 trade facilitation measures that are classified into four groups (“General Trade Facilitation”, “Digital Trade Facilitation”, “Sustainable Trade Facilitation” and “Other Trade Facilitation”) and a further 11 sub-groups covering both binding and non-binding WTO TFA measures, and measures beyond the scope of WTO TFA+.
The fourth survey is built upon the earlier surveys and expanded collection of measures on trade finance facilitation as well as on trade facilitation in times of crisis. The latter was incorporated in order to gather information on the implementation of short-term measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as long-term measures in preparation for future crises and pandemics. The crucial role of trade digitalization has been emphasized not only for increasing regulatory compliance and reducing illicit financial flows, but also as an effective method to mitigate trade disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The fourth survey also continues to pay special attention to sectors and groups with special needs, such as the agricultural sector, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and women traders, at the outset of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development’s recognition of international trade as one of the key means of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The report could further support the economies around the region in order to make trade simpler, cheaper, more resilient and sustainable through the use and application of technology and innovation in international trade procedures.</p
Methodologies for GHG emissions inventories and Paris Agreement reporting : a practical handbook
No full textThis Practical Handbook on Methodologies for GHG Emissions Inventories and Paris Agreement Reporting provides a complete methodological recommendations for government officials of the organizations from non-Annex I countries engaged in the development of and responsible for official submission of national the greenhouse gas inventory reports as per the IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (IPCC, 2006) alongside the 2013 Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands (IPCC, 2014), which are recommended on a voluntary basis by the UNFCCC Conference of Parties.
The methodological recommendations provide guidance on how to estimate the greenhouse gas emissions and removals under several individual categories or sub-categories, which are grouped by 5 sectors: Energy; Industrial Processes and Product Use (IPPU); Agriculture; Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF); and Waste. Each chapter also includes a description of source categories for each sector, as well as references, clarifications, and useful tips to support the estimation and inventory efforts. All links in the interactive version lead directly to the required section pages, original data sources, or useful supplementary resources.
The text of the book is available in an online and print versions in both the English and the Russian languages, as well as an online training tool, which is intended to support the estimation of GHG emissions and the preparation of national inventories by Central Asian and other countries, which are non-Annex I parties under the UNFCCC. An interactive version of the tool is available upon registration at: http://escap.igce.ru/
The development of this Practical Handbook on Methodologies for GHG Emissions Inventories and Paris Agreement Reporting was made possible through the ESCAP regional project on Supporting countries in Asia-Pacific to meet commitments to the Paris Agreement funded by the Russian Federation.</p
East Asian trade integration in the era of global value chains : prospects and challenges
No full textThis paper examines trade integration of East Asian countries through the lens of global value chains (GVCs). It first gauges the extent and involvement of trade in value-added (TiVA) for East Asian countries. The analysis confirms that reliance on backward GVC participation outside of the region still looms large in East Asia. This implies, in addition to deepening intraregional integration, linking with global trade and production networks remains important. Sectoral comparisons reveal that Regional Value Chains (RVCs) among East-Asian economies have been increasing its role in East Asian’s exports of transport equipment sector while decreasing the role in its exports of textile and apparel sector. Such trend seems to suggest RVC opportunities are available to East Asian economies in sectors that require production to locate close to large and growing markets and suppliers’ ability to absorb new technology. Moreover, the study finds enabling policy environment is an important factor to strengthen intraregional value chain linkages. For example, non-tariff measures (NTMs), have become an important part of trade-policy measures and have significantly affected trade flows in RVCs. It is found that NTMs are generally associated with reduced trade in value-added flows, except in the case that NTMs may help ensuring quality standards, such as technical NTMs in the food industry
Outward foreign direct investment and upgrading by emerging market firms in global value chains
No full textThis report analyzes how emerging market firms upgrade their capabilities to become leading global competitors, suggesting the use of foreign investments as an upgrading mechanism in global value chains. The report introduces a typology of global value chain upgrading strategies based on two dimensions: the type of global value chain expansion followed by the emerging market firm (repetition or extension), and the governance relationships between emerging market firms and advanced country lead firms (collaborators or autonomous). This results in four upgrading strategies, dependent, replicative, breakaway, and independent which are illustrated by analyzing the global value chains of four leading Thai multinationals. The report concludes with a discussion of government policy supporting each of the upgrading strategies, suggesting a rethinking and integration of existing and new policies that promote exports, inward foreign direct investment, and outward foreign direct investment within the general driver of facilitating emerging market firms’ upgrading
